Sony’s New SXRD HDTV Displays
Just yesterday I was bemoaning Sony’s fall from grace as the king of television. And what do they do? Announce a couple new televisions that could really turn the company around.
Sony’s Qualia 006 is an SXRD HDTV that’s been highly praised in the press, often being cited as the best RPTV ever made. Now Sony is introducing some RPTVs based on the same kind of SXRD technology.
The new sets are both 1920 x 1080 designs based on Sony’s 0.61 inch SXRD panels, three of which will be used in each set.
The panels produce a contrast ratio of 5,000:1. An “Advanced Iris” combines with the three panels and Sony’s Cinema Black Pro mode to maximize contrast ratio up to 10,000:1 based on overall light levels of the original signal. The result is exceptional brightness and sharp contrast. Additionally, the aperture of the iris shutter has been reduced in size, resulting in more faithfully reproduced blacks, the company said.
The new models feature a CableCARD slot, dual HDMI inputs, three iLink/Firewire/IEEE1394 inputs, and PC (VGA?) input, and Memory Stick viewer. Could those dual HDMI inputs mean that they can accept a 1080p signal, making these sets PS3 compatible to the highest degree? I don’t know, but I’m crossing my fingers. It’s about time display manufacturers starting supporting 1080p.
The televisions will retail for about $5,000 and $4,000 for the KDS-R60XBR1 and KDS-R50XBR1, respectively, come September. If these sets are anywhere near as good as the Qualia 006, consumers will be snatching them up at those prices. Maybe this is the beginning of a comeback for Sony. We can only hope.
Link: PRNewswire - Sony Expands SXRD Rear Projection HDTV Line With 50 and 60-Inch Grand WEGA Televisions
Link: Audioholics - Sony Introduces 1080p SXRD Grand WEGA HDTVs (with pictures)
Check out our new sister blog on Home Theater, HTBlog.net
August 19th, 2005 at 3:28 am
I presume “PC input” to mean DVI. An analog VGA connection would be ridiculous.
August 19th, 2005 at 8:46 am
Not so ridiculous. The sets also have other analog inputs, a VGA input is one more way to get the set connected, and the set already has two HDMI inputs, so there’s no need for a DVI.
August 19th, 2005 at 9:41 am
Hm, I disagree. DVI is the digital standard for computer displays. With a DVI connector, you could use this display as a monitor, and your computer would correctly detect the resolution and colour settings of the device. HDMI is more for audio-video equipment, isn’t it?
Using a fuzzy VGA connection from a computer instead of DVI would just be wrong, in my opinion.
August 19th, 2005 at 9:43 am
HDMI is a souped-up DVI. It can do everything DVI can do. You can buy DVI-HDMI and HDMI-DVI converters. It IS more handy for AV, because it can include a digital audio component, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be used for computers.
September 13th, 2005 at 6:37 pm
[…] Sony calls it the Sony VPL-VW100 HD SXRD Projector. It uses the same SXRD technology as the Qualia 004, but uses the 0.61″ type SXRD panels. Three of them. Their previous SXRD panels were 0.78″ parts. The 0.61″ panels will also be used in the upcoming SXRD RPTVs. The projector’s resolution, like the Qualia, is a nice full HD one at 1920 x 1080. And the contrast ratio? Glad you asked. It’s supposed to be 15,000:1. Another article claims that the 0.61″ chip gives a contrast ratio of 5,000:1. I tend to believe the latter number. The projector features both DVI and HDMI inputs and will retail for 1,365,000 Yen come December. […]
March 14th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
I have it, I love it.
But I still don’t really understand the whole 1920×1080 resolution but won’t accept a 1080p signal. Please explain this and tell me how it is a big bad thing or how it won’t really matter.
March 14th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
This is a 1920 x 1080 display. It takes 1080i signals and line-doubles them (uninterlaces them) to 1080p, then displays the 1080p signal. (It also takes other resolutions like 720p, 480i, and 480p and uninterlaces them if necessary and scales them up to 1080p.)
The problem with this (and most other) 1080p set is that it can’t actually accept a 1080p signal on any of its inputs. This is bad because a 1080p signal is better than a 1080i signal, but your TV can’t accept it.
However!
This isn’t a problem right now because there are currently no sources that put out a 1080p signal. But they’re coming.
What this really means is that you can’t get the most out of what the display hardware can do. But you still have a very good set that’ll give you a great picture.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:35 pm
I have the KDSR60XBR1
I used DVI-HDMI cable to connect my pc but the problem is I can’t use more than 800X600 resolutions
is this the maximum the TV can do ? or the problem in my graphics card ? ( ATI Radone 9200 SE )
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:40 pm
The TV’s native resolution is higher than that, so the problem lies elsewhere. What it is, though, I don’t know. Did you check the AVS Forums?